Chapter 470 The Man Who Forgot Her

Chapter 470: Chapter 470 The Man Who Forgot Her

It wasn’t until Rose stood beside the hospital bed and looked at the man lying there that she realized just how vulnerable Ryan had become.

She had seen him injured before.

She had seen him exhausted, angry, pale, even sick.

But never like this.

He lay motionless beneath the hospital sheets, his face almost colorless.

Lines and monitors surrounded him, keeping track of every fragile change in his condition.

The steady beeping of the machines seemed unnaturally loud in the quiet room.

Each sound reminded Rose that his body was still struggling to hold on.

Even his breathing was so faint that she found herself watching his chest rise and fall.

As though at any moment, it might stop.

Rose pulled a chair closer to the bed.

She sat down.

She didn’t touch him.

For a long time, she simply looked at him.

Then she spoke quietly.

"You’ve always been like this."

Her voice was soft.

"You make your own decisions. You think everything through by yourself, and then you tell no one."

She let out a quiet breath.

"Seriously."

"I hate that."

Her gaze remained on his face.

"Even when you’re doing something for my sake, you never give me a choice."

She paused.

"It still makes me uncomfortable."

The trust documents were still fresh in her mind.

The years of planning.

The money.

The birthday.

Everything Ryan had arranged without ever telling her.

"You planned everything for me, didn’t you?"

Her voice grew quieter.

"You decided what would be safest for me. What I’d need if you weren’t around."

Rose stared at him.

"Ryan, sometimes you’re unbelievably unreasonable."

There was no response.

His eyelids remained closed.

But Rose noticed the faint redness around them.

His eyelashes seemed to tremble.

Or perhaps she was imagining it.

She didn’t know.

"I know you’ve done everything you could."

Her expression softened.

She understood him now in a way she hadn’t before.

Ryan had grown up without anyone truly protecting him.

He’d learned early that depending on other people was dangerous.

His father had been cold.

His mother’s death had left a wound he had never known how to heal.

Even within his own family, affection had often come with conditions and hidden motives.

So he had learned to calculate everything.

Every possibility.

Every consequence.

Every way something could go wrong.

He had survived by staying ten steps ahead of everyone else.

And when it came to her, he had done the same thing.

He didn’t know how to love her in a simple way.

He knew how to plan.

How to provide.

How to protect.

How to make sure that if he disappeared, she would still have something left behind.

The trust was proof of that.

If the trust company hadn’t contacted her, Rose suspected Ryan would never have told her about it.

Even if he had died, he probably would have let the trust company quietly send her money every year without ever revealing that it had been arranged by him.

He would have let her believe the money came from some anonymous financial arrangement.

Anything to keep her from feeling indebted to him.

Rose sat there for a long time.

Eventually, she lowered her eyes.

"Ryan."

Her voice was barely a whisper.

"Wake up."

"Then apologize to me yourself."

She waited.

"And don’t make me accept an apology through a lawyer or a trust company."

*****

James eventually learned about the trust.

There was no realistic way for Rose to keep it completely private.

The trust had been established through a Swiss firm, the documents were being reviewed by lawyers, and Rose was physically in Germany while everything was being handled.

James stared at the information in disbelief.

"So he really knew."

His brows drew together.

"He knew he might not make it this far."

He let out a humorless laugh.

"That explains a lot."

Then his expression darkened.

"No wonder he always seemed to look down on everyone."

James shook his head.

"That man’s head is always ten steps ahead. He never gives anyone else a chance to make a decision."

Charlotte, who had been listening nearby, fell silent.

Then, unexpectedly, she felt a strange sense of relief.

It wasn’t that she had somehow been lacking.

Ryan had simply poured everything he had into Rose.

Every feeling.

Every plan.

Every piece of himself.

There hadn’t been room left for anyone else.

"How long before Ryan wakes up?" Oliver asked.

He had already guessed much of what was happening.

The trust didn’t surprise him as much as it did the others.

What mattered to him was Ryan’s condition.

"When is he going to wake up?"

James glanced toward the other side of the room.

Rose was sitting there on a video call with Ariel.

She wasn’t crying.

She wasn’t talking about Ryan.

Instead, she was smiling at Ariel and asking about her day.

Ariel giggled.

Rose’s lips curved into a gentle smile.

She hadn’t told her daughter how serious Ryan’s condition was.

Not yet.

Five days passed.

Ryan still hadn’t regained consciousness.

Charlotte looked at Oliver.

"Let it happen when it happens."

Oliver frowned.

"That’s easy for you to say."

"Because it’s true."

She crossed her arms.

"Checking every hour won’t make him wake up faster."

Oliver muttered something under his breath.

Charlotte raised an eyebrow.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

He wisely stopped talking.

He had discovered that arguing with Charlotte and James at the same time was a terrible use of his energy.

Rose herself didn’t know when Ryan would wake up.

She didn’t know whether he would remember them.

She didn’t know what neurological deficits he might have when he finally opened his eyes.

All they could do was wait.

The most dangerous part of the postoperative period had passed without a catastrophic hemorrhage.

That alone was extraordinarily fortunate.

But no one expected Ryan to wake up perfectly recovered.

His condition had been severe even before surgery.

The tumor had been deep.

The operation had been extensive.

And his brain had endured significant stress.

They could only hope that whatever damage remained would be manageable.

Fortunately, the medical center had some of the most advanced neurological monitoring and rehabilitation resources available.

For now, there was nothing more they could do except watch and wait.

*****

Halfway through the second week, Diana called.

"I’ve been thinking," she said. "Liam and I are going to come over in a few days."

Rose smiled faintly.

"For a visit?"

"And a honeymoon."

Rose’s eyebrows lifted.

"You two really know how to combine business and pleasure."

Diana laughed.

"We’ll see you and Ryan, too."

Rose didn’t refuse.

"Okay."

By the tenth day, Grace had to return to the United States because of her own work.

Before leaving, she gave Rose a long list of instructions about eating, sleeping and taking care of herself.

Rose promised she would.

Grace clearly didn’t believe her.

Nathan was also worried about Ariel.

Before returning home, he spoke with Rose privately, gave her several reminders about keeping her routine stable, and then flew back.

James, Oliver and the others stayed.

None of them wanted to leave while Ryan was still unconscious.

Charlotte, meanwhile, had become so familiar with Berlin that she was beginning to act as though she owned the place.

She went shopping almost every day.

And every time she returned, she brought something back.

Clothes.

Shoes.

Things Rose didn’t need.

Things Charlotte insisted Rose needed.

The medical estate itself was unlike an ordinary hospital.

It was large and private, surrounded by landscaped grounds, with dedicated patient suites and medical facilities integrated into the property.

Oliver and the others had all settled there.

By the twelfth day, the waiting had become routine.

That afternoon, Rose received another call from Diana.

"We’re already in Italy," Diana said. "We’ll fly to Germany tomorrow."

Rose smiled.

"Okay. Call me when you land."

After hanging up, she glanced at the time.

She was about to call Ariel when she heard hurried footsteps.

James appeared at the end of the corridor.

He was breathing hard.

His expression was completely different from usual.

"Rose."

She stood immediately.

"What happened?"

James looked at her.

"He’s awake."

Rose froze.

For half a second, she couldn’t move.

Then she was already walking.

She moved quickly down the corridor.

James kept pace beside her, his face grim.

The closer they got to Ryan’s room, the heavier the silence became.

When they reached the door, James suddenly caught Rose’s wrist.

She turned.

His expression was unusually serious.

"Rose."

She waited.

"You need to prepare yourself."

Something cold settled in her stomach.

"What happened?"

James didn’t answer.

He simply looked at her.

Rose pulled her wrist free.

Then she opened the door.

The room was already crowded.

Doctors.

Nurses.

Medical staff.

Everyone turned at the sound.

And every face was solemn.

Rose’s heart sank.

She stepped inside.

One step.

Then another.

Her eyes searched the room.

Until—

She saw him.

Ryan was awake.

His face was still pale.

His body was weak.

But his eyes were open.

Those deep, beautiful eyes she had known for years.

They looked exactly the same.

And yet something about them felt completely unfamiliar.

Ryan looked directly at her.

His gaze lingered on her face.

There was no recognition.

No warmth.

No anger.

Nothing.

His thin lips parted.

And in a quiet, almost indifferent voice, he asked—

"And who are you?"